Tammy was a weekly British comic for girls published by Fleetway in London from 1971 to 1984. Tammy was closely linked editorially with the fellow Fleetway titles Misty and Jinty (eventually absorbing both of them). At its height, Tammy sold 250,000 copies per week, more than popular IPC Magazines titles like 2000 AD. Tammy ' s first editor was Gerry Finley-Day, followed by Wilf Prigmore.

Publication history

Tammy published 689 issues from 6 February 1971 to 23 June 1984, at which point it merged with Girl volume 2. Other titles which had merged with Tammy before then include Sally, June, Sandie, Jinty, Misty, and Princess (vol. 2). As well as the weekly comic, Christmas annuals were also published.

Content

Every Tammy issue was a collection of stories, usually serial instalments, that lasted three or four pages. While there were similarities with its Fleetway stablemates Jinty and Misty, each comic magazine had its own focus, with Tammy being known for its bleak variations of Cinderella. Commenting on serial Slaves of Orphan War Farm, Julia Round says that the story is emblematic of Tammy 's themes: "a working class heroine, constantly thwarted hope, and overt violence against girls, usually from an older authority figure." Tammy sub-editor Pat Mills saw that weekly as being different from "nice", "middle-class" British girl's comics, like Diana and Princess Tina, that had come before. Many stories were full of cruelty and adversity, based on the understanding that girls wanted stories that made them cry. One serial that stood out to a number of reviewers was The Loneliest Girl in the World, with artwork by Jaume Rumeu. Tammy ' s respective merges with Misty brought darker, horror tones, and the merge with Jinty brought more science-fiction. Despite these, changes in editorship brought Tammy to a more traditional mold in storytelling during the 1980s. The dark, cruel streaks that made Tammy so revolutionary in the 1970s had disappeared, except for Bella Barlow. Tammy had more long-running regulars than most girls' comics due to the comic's respective merges. The Tammy and Sandie merger brought Wee Sue and Jeannie and her Uncle "Meanie" in 1973. The Tammy and June merger brought Bessie Bunter, Mam'selle X, and the Storyteller with The Strangest Stories Ever Told in 1974. The Tammy and Misty merger brought Miss T and Misty herself to join the Storyteller, in 1980. The Tammy and Jinty merger brought Pam of Pond Hill in 1981.

Creators

Attribution

In a move unusual for girls' comics, artists and writers were credited in the pages of Tammy (although only its last few years). (2000 AD, in contrast, had included credits from issue #36, 29 October 1977.)

Artists

Artists featured in the pages of Tammy included John Armstrong, who drew the long-running character Bella Barlow. Others included Mario Capaldi, Jose Casanovas, Tony Coleman, Diane Gabbott, Douglas Perry, Eduardo Feito, Giorgio Giorgetti (Belinda Bookworm; The Cat Girl; Jump, Jump, Julia; Sister in the Shadows; Star Struck Sister; Witch Hazel), Juliana Buch, and Miguel Quesada.

Writers

Writers featured included Jenny McDade, who wrote Star Struck Sister, the first Bella Barlow story and Come Back, Bindi; Benita Brown, who wrote the science fiction story Tomorrow Town; Gerry Finley-Day, who wrote The Camp on Candy Island; Maureen Spurgeon, who wrote the Molly Mills stories; Pat Mills, who wrote Granny's Town, Thursday's Child and Glenda's Glossy Pages; Malcolm Shaw, who wrote E.T. Estate; Ian Mennell, who wrote Namby Pamby and Cuckoo in the Nest; Alison Christie, who specialised in heart-tugging stories such as A Gran for the Gregorys and Cassie's Coach; Jay Over, who wrote Slave of the Clock and Pam of Pond Hill from the Jinty merger; Primrose Cumming, who wrote the later Bella Barlow stories; and Anne Digby, who wrote Olympia Jones; Terence Magee, who wrote The Four Friends at Spartan School, The Witch of Widecombe Wold and Sally in a Shell.

List of strips and stories

Sources